If I have the story right, Pete's Zephyr was bought new by Bob's father. Pete lives in San Mateo, California and these pictures were taken on a 2,800 mile jaunt up to British Columbia. Pete says the car did fine and averaged 28 mpg.

Bob Bisell was good enough to share the history of these two cars with me, and allowed me to post the information here. An interesting window into the story of two well preserved Zephyrs. What may not be clear from the following text is that Bob and Pete only met each other this summer when Bob bought his Zephyr.

-- Michael

Pete's Zephyr

My parent’s bought Pete’s car new from John Milton Motors which then was located on Broadway in Oakland, California some time in the Spring of 1960; April, possibly. They traded in a 1952 Humber Hawk on the Zephyr and got 250 dollars for it. The Zephyr cost around $2600 with no radio. The weather in Oakland on that day was good and I remember because of two reasons: first, I do remember the day they brought it home and second, because the car was never driven it in the rain until it about 1972, then only because they were in Wyoming on one of its several cross country trips and couldn’t avoid it. My parents sold it to Pete’s Dad around 1986 but Pete would know more about the date.

Bob's Zephyr

I do have some history of my car. With Pete’s help, I have determined it was built around January 1, 1960. It was shipped to Canada and sold in April or May, 1960 from Dearborn Motors, a Ford Dealer in Salmon Arm BC, to a couple who lived in Mara, BC. I am guessing at the dealership but there are a number of early service slips from the dealership and as to the date, I have a book that indicates that on May 26, 1960 the owner put 4.5 gallons (imperial) in it at 1024 miles. Both Salmon Arm and Mara are towns are about 50 miles North of where I am now so the Zephyr has come “home” so to speak. The Ford dealership is still in Salmon Arm and I may one day drive it up there and have a visit. It was driven and serviced in the Salmon Arm - Mara area until about 1985 or 86 (again, I have some insurance, pair and service receipts) and then went to Calgary, Alberta to a son or daughter of the couple. Somewhere in here it became a “1961.” It went from Calgary to Red Deer, Alberta after 2000 (I have a new battery bill dated 2000 from a Canadian Tire store in Calgary) where it was put in a Red Deer Cruise Night as a 1961 “Mercury” Zephyr (sic). I am assuming it was driven at this time by someone “young” as they put blue signal lights in the front.

Last fall, a guy in Port Hope Ontario (a collector of British cars, mostly Jag’s) bought it and had it shipped to Ontario, Canada. He drove it about 200 miles and then put it on eBay where I found it the day after I found Pete and his Zephyr. I have corrected the registration to 1960 and it now has the original BC registration number (not the licence number) issued way back in 1960. The BC insurance company had the complete list of registrations

This is Bob. My Zephyr, I have discovered, is Pompadour Blue (it grows on you). It has 41K miles on it and is an automatic. The last few thousand miles weren't the easy ones. I have managed to change the oil which was rather dark and syrupy, cleaned and rebuilt the carb, adusted the valves, broken the generator pulley/fan and replaced it with a metal unit. It does run much betterOverall its not in bad shape with no holes due to rust (probably because the valve cover screws were finger tight and oil covered everywhere but under the fenders) and just one dent in a rear door that I put in it. It needs front and window seals and the top of the back seat upholstery is non existant. The front struts need help but the rear shocks are perfect. The engine also could use help as the valve seals gave up a while ago and it tends smoke a bit. But over all it is very original down to the ignition system with wires it came out of the factory with. I even have the sticker that says the dealer can install a radio, if you want (it has never had a radio). Needless to say, its a long term project. Its good to be back with something familiar. I had a '59 Zodiac with O/D in the late 60's/Early 70's and a '72 Cortina L after that. Its going to be fun._________________rdb

Been a while since I updated on the car. I did a lot of cleaning under the hood and painted (well I had parts powder coated). New Battery. I refurbished the original wheels and put new Firestone 185-70-13's on it. Got new hub caps as well. Cleaned and checked the brakes. Had the sun damaged back of the rear seat repaired. Cleaned up the brakes and put new hangers on the exhaust system. I have an original replacement muffler to go on it some day but the little muffler on it now makes it sound soooo good (nothing like a straight six sound). Started doing a rub down on the paint and it has shined up amazingly well - most of the car to go. Cleaned out and painted the pan and changed the fluid in the auto trans. Drained and changed the diff fluid too. Its still very dirty underneath. Did all of that in anticipation of using it for my daughters wedding. It started and runs very quiet and smooth. There's only one problem - it won't stop smoking blue. So a teardown is in the works for this spring. I don't think its too serious and I have rings and bearings and seals and an excellent machine shop nearby. _________________rdb

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 5 years since these pictures were taken of our cars in Kelowna, B.C. My in-laws, who were sitting in the back seat, have since passed away. My wife and I talk about driving up to B.C. with the Zephyr someday and visit with her relatives but somehow we can't find the time to do that. We are still planning on driving up to Hillsboro, OR in early June to attend the Ford's Forever meet. Maybe we'll get at least (3) 206E cars together ( including mike's Zodiac ) there.

I believe you sent me some pictures of the engine bay before as they look familiar. A big improvement and the engine bay looks rust free.

Yes it has been a long time since those pictures were taken. And a lot of events have occurred.

I had hoped to be much farther along with the car than I am but it gets cold here in the winter and the garage a bit chilly so most of the effort is done in the spring time. My excuses are that I worked almost full time after I bought the car and tore down the Courier as well which had to run before I could work on the Zeph. Those are the same pictures I sent you. There is a little rust in the corners but surprisingly not a lot for a CDN car. I will get the heater box straightened and painted before Hillboro - it looks kinda crappy. And maybe the door dent fixed. I have a four blade Zeph fan from Aussieland on it so it will cool a little better.And I think I will do the ignition conversion you suggested. It just makes sense. Its a pretty solid machine over all.

My plan is to drive the Zeph to Hillsboro. I have some volunteers who say they are coming along including a friend who will drive his car with me - just in case. I am not willing to put more than two seat belts in the Zeph so that limits me to one passenger. If I don't get the car ready in time then I will drive the Courier - one Ford or the other - and the Courier would be almost as unique. It would be nice to see three good looking 206E's in a row!

Thanks for the update on your progress -- at least you ARE making progress. Family events are going to keep me away from Hillsboro this year. But if you are passing through Olympia, you are most welcome to stop by.

And yes, the Courier would be welcome at the IMPORT Ford Meet. It would be the first one to ever attend.